


Arise

by Rebel_Maiden



Series: Arise [1]
Category: Angel - Fandom, Demon - Fandom, Humor - Fandom, Life and Death - Fandom, Valkyrie - Fandom, Vikings - Fandom, War - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-10 15:31:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6991309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rebel_Maiden/pseuds/Rebel_Maiden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Earth is slowly falling to the demons and only one Valkyrie stands in their way to successfully gaining ground towards Asgard, newly banished Sirah has been dropped to Earth without any means of getting back home but she doesn't let that stop her, she's got a job to do and she'll be damned if she lets the demons take over Valhalla. She's prepared to fight and kill as many as she can but there was one problem she wasn't planning on running into, Marshal and Molly. These two humans are now targeted because of her and even though she would love to just leave them behind, she can't. Now Sirah must save two worlds before time is up, she just hopes she doesn't have to deal with too much shit along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Marshal awoke with the floor to ceiling blinds already stretched wide open, the early morning sun rise was poking gently up over the city and peeking into his bedroom. He groaned groggily and rolled around to look at the clock sitting on the night stand. It was almost eleven already, Molly was long gone to work at the hospital. He slowly rose from the bed and shuffled his feet down the hallway to the open living room. Molly had left the TV on the news channel and he stole a sideways glance at the huge flat screen before making his way into the kitchen area. He watched from behind the island counter as he prepared a bowl of cereal, there had been a huge electrical storm during the early hours of the morning out by the coast, apparently there was a huge lightning strike as well. He watched intently as he ate, there was a short amateur video, fuzzy and pixilated but the lightning was still clear. Brilliant colors flashed and then crawled across the angry dark clouds like fingers, lightning danced along the sky in an angry outburst before finally a giant bolt flashed down and hit the earth, and then all was quiet. The man holding the smart phone whooped and hollered and the vision of the video cut off and went back to the reporters.  
Marshal sighed to himself as he finished off his breakfast then made his way back down the hall, stopping in the master bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He looked at himself in the mirror, his stubble was now growing into the shadow of a beard and he needed a bit of a haircut. Marshal ran his hand through his black hair to check out the length, the tips of his hair was now down to his eyebrows. His blue eyes flashed in the mirror again as he looked himself over then Marshal stood back and started stretching, after his morning run he was planning on seeing Molly at work and to take her out to lunch. Marshal got dressed in his running clothes and headed for the door, he turned the TV off and tossed the remote to let it land with a bounce on the white four person couch that sat facing the TV perched on the brick wall. He closed the front door behind himself and began to think deeply as he walked down the hallway to the parking garage. Marshal’s grey truck was sitting comfortably on the end row parking space, he unlocked the door and hopped in while the strong smell of spearmint wafted over him. He felt like today was going to be a good day.  
The drive out to the coastal trails was a relaxing lapse of gentle winds and the sounds of the waves hitting the rocks along the flood wall. Marshal’s truck came to a slow stop in the beach parking lot where he always went to jog, there weren’t a lot of people out today and the water looked bright and welcoming. He turned the engine off then climbed out, making his way out to the jogging trail that ran along the side of the beach. When his feet hit the black top Marshal set off in a slow jog, the sea wind hit his face in a gentle breeze and Marshal smiled at the beautiful day, he couldn’t stop thinking about Molly. As the morning edged on Marshal noticed there were hardly any people out on the trail as well, he turned his head to look over his shoulder and didn’t see anyone in back of him as well. He frowned, that was unusual. He jogged on a little farther before he understood why no one was out, the trail hugged close to the beach line but in a few areas it twisted and moved farther in land into a densely wooded area. There were huge trees cracked and busted, laying all over the trail in exploded splinters and unmovable logs, during the electrical storm last night the lightning had made a huge mess. Marshal frowned and turned to go back the way he came, a small hiccup in his plans but he didn’t let it bother him too much, there were plenty more trails.  
On the way back Marshal looked out over the sparkling blue water as he jogged, there were small waves brushing up on the shore making hushed, tranquil noises. The long stretch of thin beach was empty and secluded, Marshal thought of taking Molly the next day she had off and just relaxing on the white sand. As Marshal scanned the area something caught his eye and he was forced to stop and look. It looked like a giant sandy clump laying out by the water, Marshal strained his eyes but he couldn’t make out what it was. Marshal glanced down the trail but again no one was in sight, he looked back at the lump and frowned. He waited for a moment and just looked at it, Marshal was just about to give up and leave the strange object when it moved slightly. Startled Marshal stood frozen to the spot, holding his breath but the object didn’t move again. He narrowed his eyes and began to slowly make his way down through the tree line and into the sand. He walked slowly, keeping his eyes on the object as he inched closer. There was something odd about the shape, Marshal realized as he got closer. The sand caked figure was long and sleek but there were darker colors under the sand. Marshal got closer and he felt his breath catch, the more he focused the more it looked like he was looking at feathers.  
Marshal shook his head in a bit of disbelief, there was nothing on earth that had wings that big. Now Marshal was curious beyond reason and he took a few big steps closer, now he was only a few feet away and his heart began to beat faster, they were wings, wings that were colored like a barn owl. Marshal began to look over the whole area, the wings were huge and even though they were closed they still sat about six feet long. As Marshal got in closer he noticed wet strands of dark brown, he stared down in between the bows of the wings and it slowly hit him that it was hair. Marshall’s eyes went wide and he fought the urge to roll the creature over to see just what it really was. Down at the tips of the feathers there was movement and Marshal saw sand covered skin move, he froze in place as the figure began to move and fidget. Suddenly the wings slowly rose and opened and the figure of a woman appeared, her long brown hair fell in wet strands down to her hips and her skin was a beautiful soft crème color. She turned her elegant face to look at Marshal and her bright golden eyes laid on him in a guarded glance. Marshal felt his legs give out and he fell to his knees in the sand in front of her. She slowly got to her feet in one fluid motion, never taking her eyes off of him and her wings stretched out to the sides to expand their full length. The underside of her wings was the purest white he had ever seen with little dark lines that showed through from the outer side of the wing markings, Marshal sat there gazing at the woman with his mouth slightly open.  
She wore nothing but a white dress that was cut off at the shoulders and loose fitting, it was tide tightly at her hips but it fell in beautiful loose fabric around her legs and sand. The top of the dress was collared in silver tightly around her neck, her chest was covered fully but it fell into an open back to let her wings move freely. She gazed down at Marshal without speaking, her full deep pink lips were still as stone.  
“What are you?” Marshal was finally able to ask after a moment of sheer awe.  
“What do you think I am?” She answered back, her voice was like velvet. She watched very closely as Marshal gazed around her then back up into his eyes, the answer he had was practically screaming at her.  
“An angel,” Marshal felt his throat tighten, he couldn’t believe the figure that was standing in front of him.  
“Wrong answer.” The words came out of her mouth with a hint of distaste and her eyes narrowed, in a split second her long slender fingers were wrapped around Marshal’s throat and squeezing. He choked, not believing the strength she had as she lifted him up in the air and off his feet, her long rounded almond nails dug slightly into his flesh.  
“Honestly, you humans get us mixed with them so much and it disgusts me.” Her voice was hard “Can your kind really be that dim that you can’t even tell us apart?”  
Marshal was struggling for air, confusion wrapped his mind as he glanced down at the woman and her other worldly beauty. Her brows were pinched with anger and her lips were slightly curved in a frown, there was something in her eyes that made a panicked feeling crawl up Marshal’s spine.  
“What are you?” he asked, struggling to get the words out. The woman hesitated for a moment before pulling him down to her face.  
“I’m a Valkyrie.”


	2. Chapter Two

The woman dropped him, Marshal sucked in a deep breath of fresh air and coughed into the sand. The woman turned to look around at the area, completely ignoring Marshal now. She brushed off the sand that coated her arms and dress then ruffled her feathers to send a shower of sand falling. Marshal looked up at her from where he was, the woman was just about as tall as Molly, maybe a few inches taller but she was able to hoist him up into the air off his feet and Marshal was six foot.  
“That damn bitch.” The woman scoffed and raked a hand through her hair. She turned and glanced around some more, she seemed lost.  
“Why are you here?” Marshal asked, the woman turned her eyes back on him and narrowed her gaze.  
“It’s not by my choice.” She growled. Marshal slowly rose to his feet and looked down at her but as she faced off with him it almost felt like she was the one looking down at him.  
“Then by who’s choice? What were you sent here for?”  
The woman chuckled dryly and folded her wings, the tips scraped along the sand and left little trails.  
“I was sent here by the High Lady Valkyrie, and I wasn’t sent here. I was banished.” The muscle of her jaw clenched as the woman spoke, there was anger behind her eyes.  
“Banished for what?” Marshal felt the urge to start backing away, something was telling him to get as far away as possible.  
“That doesn’t concern you,” She snapped and turned to look around some more, when her back was turned Marshal made an attempt to escape, he bolted and tried to run as quickly as he could through the sand.  
“Where do you think you’re going?” a voice from above called and then a slight amount of pressure touched Marshal’s shoulder and caught him off balance and he went tumbling into the sand. The woman landed silently a few feet in front and crossed her arms as she studied Marshal.  
“What do you want from me?” he asked.  
“I want you to stop being so fucking stupid, who seriously tries to run away from someone who has wings?”  
“Are you planning on killing me?” Marshal feared the words as they left his mouth, there was a flash in the woman’s eyes but it quickly disappeared.  
“If I wanted you dead I would have killed you already.”  
“Then why didn’t you?”  
“I’m not about to sit here and waste my time explaining myself to you.” She rolled her eyes then set her face in a stern look as she thought. Out in the water a boat drifted by and she was caught off guard by it, staring intently at the figure far out in the water. Marshal frowned at her then looked out at the boat, it was an ordinary sail boat but she looked confused by it.  
“Have you never seen a boat before?” he lifted an eye brow.  
“Of course I have,” she snapped and frowned at him for a moment before looking back at the boat. “Just never one like that,”  
“What boats are you used to?” Marshal tried to keep her preoccupied as he got back up out of the sand.  
“Wooden ones, with one mast in the middle and men on each side with large ores and shields hanging from the sides of the boat.” She said without looking at him.  
Marshal looked at her, his face twisted in confusion. “When was the last time you saw a boat?”  
“Where do you think my kind got their names from?” She shot back, her voice full of sass.  
Marshal’s head was spinning, there were so many questions he had but every time he went to ask her one another wanted to jump in its place. He stood mystified as he watched her look around, the last time she had seen a boat was over a thousand years ago but that wasn’t possible was it? He watched her walk around in the sand and view the area, when she turned back around she lifted an eye brow at him.  
“What?”  
“You’re telling me that the last time you saw a boat was during the age of the Vikings?”  
“Yes, is that so hard to believe? I mean you are looking at someone who has wings, I thought anything else I told you would be a little bit easier to swallow.”  
“You can’t be that old, you look like you’re what, twenty four or twenty five.”  
“Well I’m one thousand, six hundred years old so do with that as you will.” She spoke as if the age was no big deal, Marshal just stared at her.  
“How is that even possible?” he tried to wrap his head around it, running a hand through his hair. “Are you immortal?”  
“No, we have extended lives but we do age and die.” She turned to face him, a corner of her lip twitched as she saw the look on his face.  
“What about angels?” immediately she turned her attention from him and her mood darkened.  
“Those bastards live as long as they don’t obtain a mortal blow. Now if you’re done bothering me I have to leave.” She turned and unfolded her wings.  
“Wait, you’re not going to kill me or kidnap me?” Marshal didn’t know why he asked but he couldn’t just let her go.  
“I told you before, if I wanted you dead I would have killed you and I’m not going to sit around and baby sit a human when I have demons to kill.”  
“Whoa, what? Demons? Those are real too?” Marshal sprung to her side in an attempt to make her stay.  
“Yes, and we are locked in an eternal war with them so if you would excuse me.”  
“Wait!” Marshal moved to in front of the woman, her patience was running thin and she huffed a breath at him.  
“You haven’t been to Earth in a while and things have changed dramatically.”  
“Please, how far could your species have come?”  
Marshal frowned and ushered the Valkyrie to follow him, she had put her hands on her hips and frowned at him but he urged her on none the less. They walked back up to the black top and Marshal noticed she was bare foot but she didn’t seem to mind. Marshal was cautious in their walk back to the parking lot, he was thankful for the wooded area and he led the woman into the trees to peer out at the cars. When she first noticed them she frowned, trying to understand what they were as Marshal explained to her. A small car drove by closely and Marshal flinched back, the woman snorted at him and chuckled.  
“You have nothing to fear, why are you being so cautious?”  
“Why are you being so laid back? You’re a person with wings, you should be beyond cautious.”  
“Why would I have anything to fear from you humans? I’m pretty much untouchable in your world.” She shook her head sadly as if Marshal was a child.  
“People would lose their minds if they saw something like you walking or flying around.” Marshal tried to explain but she didn’t seem to care one way or the other. “Plus you don’t know how to navigate this world, how are you going to be able to function? You said you were banished so how are you going to survive.”  
“Clearly you forget which culture my kind was named from.” She retorted. Marshal began to speak again but she held a finger up to silence him. “Something about what you said is true however, demons have been living among humans for centuries. They know how to blend in with your kind and they have been accustom to your ways of living as well. Aesa has let them gain too much of a strong hold in this world.” She shook her head with disgust.  
“Aesa?”  
“The High Lady Valkyrie, the one in charge of everything.” She cast Marshal a side glance, a bitter note in her voice. “I need to learn about your world if I am to have any chance at an even fight with them. You,” she turned to look at Marshal and somehow he didn’t like the way she looked at him. “You need to house me until I know more about your world.”  
“Wait what?” Marshal’s eyes went wide, was she serious? “No!”  
“You have to, I need to be prepared for whatever those decrepit little bastards have in store for me.”  
“You can’t, I have a girlfriend who lives with me and she won’t understand any of this.”  
“Would you rather I kill you and find someone else?” her eyes hardened as she looked over Marshal, he swallowed hard as she looked at him, she had been banished from her own world she had already told him but Marshal was beginning to wonder what she had done to be cut off like she was. He decided not to test her any farther than he had to and kept quiet, the hard expression on her face melted away and the Valkyrie relaxed again, “That’s what I thought. Besides I’ll only be there until I can understand your world more clearly, then I’ll be able to take care of myself.”  
Marshal still didn’t like the idea but he couldn’t say anything to her, what would he say to a practically immortal woman with wings who fought demons for a living? He had questions for her too, all of this happened so suddenly that he hadn’t had time to actually sit down and process it but if she came back and lived with him for a little while maybe he could get some of those answers.  
“Fine.” Marshal finally said and the woman nodded her head. “I’m Marshal by the way.”  
“I’m Sirah.”  
Marshal jogged to get his truck, glancing around frantically to make sure no one was nearby and swung back around to pick up Sirah. How was he going to handle this? What was he even doing? Marshal had a moment where he thought about driving off but the way that Sirah acted she wasn’t above flying out in the open and following him, or killing him for disobeying her. He got back into the truck, the smell of spearmint did nothing to sooth him this time. He drove around slowly and as he glanced from side to side, he drove up onto the jogging trail far enough in that he didn’t have to worry about being seen with Sirah. She stepped out of the trees and looked the truck over, she looked like a dream and Marshal would have believed it if he hadn’t met her already and found out what she was like. He rolled down his window and nodded his head to the back door.  
“Get in.” he said but Sirah didn’t move, only stared confused at the truck, Marshal rolled his eyes and climbed out. “You open the door like this,” he said as he opened the back door and waited for Sirah to get in.  
“I’m sorry but is that sarcasm I hear.” Sirah shot back as she climbed up into the back seat. She couldn’t sit correctly because of her wings so she had to lay flat on her stomach, peaking up out of the right side window as Marshal climbed back in and set the truck in reverse.   
The drive with Sirah in the back of his truck was the most nerve raking thing Marshal had ever done, he kept glancing in the rear view mirror to make sure she was behaving herself and not being seen. Marshal was thankful his windows were tinted so no one could see inside the back seat.  
“What is the year?” Sirah asked out of the blue from the back seat while Marshal was overly focused on a red light.  
“Two thousand twenty,” He replied. He heard a scoff from the back seat but ignored it. The traffic began to move again and the two settled back down into silence for a little while. When Marshal finally made it back to the parking garage a sense of relief washed over him. He parked as closely to the doors to his level as he could and scanned the area first before getting out and then for the second time he opened the door for Sirah.  
“Ok get out,”  
“What? Are you fucking serious? I can’t crawl out backwards.”  
“Why not?” Marshal hissed. Sirah gave him a cold look from over her shoulders then tried to moved her wings which had been smooshed when she climbed in at the beached. Marshal huffed but closed the driver side doors then moved to the passenger side, looked around again then opened the door, he could hear the smart ass remarks from Sirah as he made his way to the passenger side.  
“There you go,” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. She held out her hands and Marshal pulled her out enough to where Sirah could shuffle her wings free and hop out. They made their way to the door just as another car was rounding the corner and Marshal all but shoved Sirah inside the building. She turned and glared at him but Marshal ignored the look and pushed her farther inside the building before anyone else came around. Marshal rounded the hallway and he could see the door to the loft, pushing past Sirah who was walking way too slow. He opened the door with ease and turned to wait for Sirah, when she was inside he closed the door quickly behind him and finally let out a breath he had been holding in.  
“You act like you’ve got something to hide.” Sirah spoke as she looked around at the living area, she looked at the strange surroundings she saw that there was one large couch facing the wall with an odd black rectangle hanging from the brick with another couch facing towards the wall to the right of the larger couch, the two were pressed together to form the shape of an L and had pillows and blankets on them. There were windows higher up on the walls, a few were open to let in some fresh air but other than that the walls were pretty bare, a few pictures and paintings hung but nothing special. To the right was a large open area with utensils hanging from a metal grate above a lone counter. There was a large standing shiny metal object sitting by the far left wall and Sirah went to explore it. She tugged on the handle and it opened into a door filled with food and drinks, she spied the contents carefully and noticed the slight chill that came from inside.  
“That’s a fridge,” Marshal called from in back of her. She glanced around at the other objects, giving side glances to Marshal. She started to point to stuff with a stern straight face, she pointed at the objects with the flat surface but had small nozzles on the back and a pot sitting on the surface.  
“Oven, cooks food.” Marshal leaned against the wall and watched her move around the kitchen.  
Sirah glanced at another handle and pulled down the door of the dishwasher and looked inside at all of the plates and cups, he told her what it was before she silently moved on to the toaster, the microwave and at last the sink.  
“Pull on that little handle.” Marshal mused, he was starting to have fun with this. Sirah frowned but did what he told her and she turned on the water, she watched it come out of the faucet and tried not to stare at it in wonder.  
“Where does the water come from?” She asked, a bit of an accent hinted at the edges of her words.  
“Pipes, they bring the water up to each floor and take it back down into bigger pipes below ground.” Marshal was trying his hardest to explain plumbing to her but Sirah crunched her face in a confused look. “Come on I’ll show you the rest of the place.”  
They moved onto the bathroom and Marshal began explaining each piece to her, she got startled at the toilet when he flushed the water and he had to bite his tongue in order to not laugh. He explained the shower and the contents but Sirah already seemed to know about showering so she wandered the bathroom before she settled on the toothbrushes. She picked one up and inspected it.  
“What is this?” she asked, holding it out to Marshal.  
“You brush your teeth with that, you use a little bit of tooth paste with it.”  
“Show me.” Sirah put the toothbrush in his hand and stepped back, eyes fixed with curiosity. Marshal frowned but picked up the toothpaste and dabbed a little on before brushing. He looked over at Sirah and lifted his free hand to signal if she was satisfied or not.  
“Why do you do that?” She asked after he had spit into the sink.  
“To keep my teeth clean, seems you don’t have to worry about brushing your teeth though.”  
Sirah had beautifully white, straight teeth. She shook her head, again confused with humans but she followed Marshal back out of the bathroom and he showed her the guest bedroom. She seemed to look questionably at the bed.  
“You do know what a bed is, don’t you?” He asked.  
“Of course, humans just sleep differently.” Sirah talked as she moved her wings.  
“That reminds me, what were you doing face down in the sand?”  
“I was sleeping, after I got banished her I got a little worked up so I decided to stay where I was until I had a plan.” Sirah shrugged her shoulders.  
“You got a little worked up? That electrical storm was you?” Marshal’s eyes went wide.  
“Yes,”  
“How the hell did you do that?”  
“There are a handful of Valkyries who have powers, it’s not a common thing in our kind so those who have powers are held at a higher rank and most often run for High Lady. Each power is special and unique, I for instance can control electricity.”  
“That’s a lot of power,” Marshal replied absent mindedly, if she had the power to control electricity she could rule the human world. Marshal stole a sideways glance at Sirah, he wondered if she would take over the human world if she found out the power she had over humans.  
“It was why I was kicked out.” Sirah said as she fiddled with things in the bedroom.  
“You were kicked out of heaven because of your power?”  
“Heaven isn’t real,” Sirah rolled her eyes, “Valkyries live in Valhalla and Angels live in Asgard. I was kicked out of Valhalla and banished to Earth because Aesa, the current High Lady found out about my powers and saw it as a threat to her rule. Instead of killing me she discarded me to Earth, even took my damn weapon away that bitch.” Sirah growled.  
“Who’s Aesa?”  
“She was my best friend.” Sirah said a little softer. “She started acting strange since I had come back from the North Point.”  
“North Point?”  
“It is the Valkyrie strong hold closest to Hel, Hel is where the demons live. And it’s not the Christian version Hell it’s the Norse version of Hel. Don’t ask me questions about it because hardly anyone knows what really goes on in Hel.”  
Marshal has to sit down to be able to comprehend what Sirah was telling him, he sat at the edge of the bed quietly and listen to her explain things.  
“So how did your kind come into existence?”  
“Well before humans came around Earth was just one big stale mate, it was the world standing in the way between Hel and Asgard. The angels had nothing to fear from an attack from the demons after they sealed the portals connecting the two realms but the demons found a loop hole by using Earth’s portals to get to Asgard.”  
“Why didn’t the angels fight back?”  
“Angels can’t fight, if they fight and kill, it turns them evil, turns them into the demon version of a winged being which is a harpy.”  
“So they’re basically the prey and demons were the predators.”  
“Correct. However when humans began popping up it changed things drastically, the remaining Archangels went down to Earth to study your kind and they all ended up mating with many of the human females. When the women gave birth they didn’t give birth to humans or angels they gave birth to the first Valkyries. We had our own ways of life already set in like it was second nature, we killed demons from the very beginning of our existence but we had no title, we didn’t have anything to call ourselves by except our names. When the Archangels returned to find us they were beyond surprised to find that not only had they created a new breed but we could kill demons and not be affected. We were cautious of them however, we didn’t know who they were or what they wanted from us. We had lived a whole different life back then and we didn’t want to go with the angels. They tried to force us but to their surprise we had another thing they weren’t expecting.”  
“A High Lady?” Marshal asked, Sirah shook her head.  
“Well a very aggressive attitude but we also had a Valkyrie Queen, High Ladies are in charge but it’s like having a substitute.”  
“How can you tell them apart from the rest of you?”  
“Valkyrie Queens have feathers on their head that we call the crown, have you ever seen a painting of a Valkyrie and noticed they have helms with wings on the sides of them?” Marshal shook his head and Sirah sighed in disbelief. “Well Valkyrie Queens have them except of course the feathers are real and they are attached to their head, the same colors as their wings but the feathers on the head symbolize a true leader. There has only been one Queen in our history and that was Freyja, when the angels were pressing us under their will she stepped forward to confront them, in the end the angels submitted to her and they negotiated terms. In the end the Valkyries went back but a large portion of Asgard was broken off and given to us as our own land. We were to protect the angels from the demons but in return the angels would let us live our lives separately and in our own rules and regulations.”  
“Wow that Freyja seemed like a bad ass to be able to push the Archangels around.”  
“She’s my grandmother,” Sirah cocked a smile but continued with her story. “Unfortunately Freyja died but not before giving birth to my mother, after the death of our Queen for a long time the Valkyries were a mess. We didn’t know who to rely on or what to do so that’s when the Archangels stepped in again and tried to take control. None of us liked that and it went against the regulations that Freyja had put down so in order to keep our freedom we placed a High Lady in charge, until the next Queen comes into power.”  
“But wouldn’t that have been your mother, or even you?”  
“No, a Queen can come from anyone, it doesn’t go by family ties, it goes by blood right.”  
“I see, wow that’s crazy.” Marshal sighed and let the information sink in. “So why did Aesa start acting weird?”  
“I was sent to the North Point as punishment from getting out of control, she sent me there to correct myself and to learn from the toughest of the Valkyries, the Amazons. When I returned I had all of this new found power and control but something had changed in my friend, she started doing things that just didn’t add up or were things she would never do before. At first I wasn’t sure if it was because I had changed so much and I saw things in a different light but I soon realized she had changed and not for the best of our people, when I tried to confront her about it we got into an argument and my powers were made known, she then banished me to make sure I didn’t challenge her and the rest you know.”  
“That must be tough.” Marshal felt a stab of pity for Sirah, he couldn’t imagine what she was feeling. “Can’t anyone help you? Are there Valkyries here that can lend you a hand?”  
“Valkyries haven’t been in your world for centuries and I’m banished, remember? I don’t get help. I am forbidden from seeing any of my kind.” Sirah sounded bitter as she spoke, concentrating her eyes on the lamp on the side table.  
Just as Marshal was about to speak again his phone buzzed in his back pocket, Sirah’s head snapped to look at him and he held a finger up to her to quiet her. Sirah narrowed her gaze but held her tongue.  
“Marshal?” it was Molly’s voice on the other end, she didn’t sound pleased. Marshal wanted to kick himself right in the ass, he totally forgot about going to lunch with Molly.  
“Hey babe,” he replied, Sirah’s eyes were fully on him and her golden gaze was unwavering as she listened to the conversation.  
“Where are you?”  
“Sorry I had to do a few things and the time got away from me. Still want to go out?”  
“Marshal I have twenty minutes left for lunch and it will take you fifteen to get here.” She sounded exhausted already.  
“Well then what about if I take you out for some food after you get off from work?” Marshal asked, there was a silence from the other end of the phone as Molly thought.  
“Alright.” She finally sighed.  
“Alright I’ll see you then, I love you.”  
“I love you too.”   
Marshal took the phone from his ear and hung up, before he could even glance up at Sirah she had snatched his phone and was looking at it in sheer wonder.  
“What is this little device?”  
“It’s a cell phone.” Marshal tried taking the phone back but she moved quickly and pushed his forehead back with her free hand.  
“What is a cell phone?”  
“Sirah give it back,” Marshal reached again but one of Sirah’s wings folded and shielded her from his advance, her feathers felt like silk on his skin.  
“Give it back and I’ll show you.” He finally sighed as he watched her finagle the phone in her hand. She glanced at him then nodded slightly, content with his explanation. Marshal flipped the phone around and opened the lock screen, Sirah moved close enough that he could feel the heat coming off of her skin. He tried to ignore it and focused on his phone, he began poking apps and teaching her about what was on the phone and how to use everything, surprisingly Sirah picked everything up relatively quickly and understood it with little effort.  
“You know for someone who’s over a thousand years behind you pick things up pretty quickly.” Marshal joked as Sira moved away from him, she was so quiet in all over her movements she was almost like a whisper.  
“Humans are easy to understand, you have a very simple way of thinking about things so it’s easy to pick up on.” Sirah shrugged a shoulder as she focused her attention on other things. “Human’s must have everything logically within their grasp, your kind act like children.”  
“That’s a blunt way of thinking about us don’t you think?” Marshal stood and faced her. Sirah turned around with a blank expression on her face.  
“Not at all.” She looked up at him with a strong look, she only came up to his shoulder but she looked up at him as if he were nothing.  
“Ok well I don’t have a lot of time to stay here and help you settle in right now but you can stay in this room but I guess we will have to make a few arrangements for you to sleep better. Since you are doing so well with catching up with human society why don’t I introduce you to the the internet and let you explore that a little but you have to stay in this room.”  
Marshal led Sirah back out of the room and down the hall, he moved into his bedroom and fished his laptop out from under the bed and managed to escort Sirah back to the spare room. He sat down on the bed and motioned Sirah over, she frowned and moved to the side of the bed. Her wings shuffled slightly and relaxed against her frame, he took a moment to glance at her feathers before returning to the laptop. She leaned over his shoulder and waited patiently for him to get started.  
As he went through what was a normal process for him, he had to explain everything to Sirah in a step by step process. He went by each icon and told her its use before moving to the internet and clicking it open. He typed a few things in to give her an idea of things and showed her the basics, he looked up a few times to see if she was understanding everything and was met with the sideways glance of her stern gaze towards the screen.   
“Ok so here I’ll get up and give this to you and you can fool around with it, I’m going to get something to drink real quick but let me know if you have any questions.” Marshal handed the laptop back to her and her fingers brushed with his as she handled the laptop. Sirah silently looked at the screen before edging her way down onto the bed and stretching her wings out to the side and angled slightly to the front so she could sit comfortably. Marshal looked her over once more before getting up and moving to the kitchen.  
Sirah sat in content silence as she learned how to use the laptop, the keyboard was odd and a jumbled mix of Christian letters and odd numbers, she was taught the most recent updated version of writing the humans used but runes were still Sirah’s first form of language and she sometimes had difficulty with reading other languages, something that ticked her off constantly but she wasn’t about to let the bumbling idiot Marshal know that. After typing a few things into what Marshal called ‘Google’ she got the hang of things and the English language came back to her slowly but surely, speaking a different language sure was a lot easier than writing it. Suddenly she was thrown into a whole world of information and data, she thought if she could get a handle on this internet thing she would be able to find demons a lot quicker.  
“So how can demons coexist with humans so well and not be seen?” Marshal called from behind her, it took Sirah a moment to take her full focus off the screen and to reply. She had wondered off into a Norse web site and was reading very deeply.  
“Demons can shape shift their form to match a human’s appearance.”  
“And you can’t?”  
“No,” Sirah growled, did he not understand that demons had different powers?  
“That’s stupid,” she could hear him murmur in the kitchen and Sirah felt her anger spike for a moment.  
“You’re stupid,” she shot back loud enough from him to hear. The more and more Sirah dove deeper into the internet the more she was impressed, even though humans were simple and they didn’t want to look any farther than their own comfort box they still had a very interesting nature. Sirah began typing in more questions into the search engine when a little screen popped up which prevented her from continuing.  
“Marshal what is this?” She asked, waiting for Marshal to come up behind her and look down.  
“You need to plug in the laptop, it needs power.”  
“What power does it need?” Sirah asked in a confused tone.  
“It runs on electricity, you need to charge up the battery or it will die.” Marshal was dreading the time when Sirah would figure out that the whole human world ran on the one thing she had master control over. She sat silently for a moment and let the answer sink in then she smiled devilishly, Marshal felt his blood go cold, oh god no.  
“Where must the power go in?” Sirah asked, her accent growing thick for a moment.  
“Right here,” Marshal pointed to the outlet and Sirah tipped the laptop to inspect the little hole and Marshal held his breath as Sirah put everything together. After a moment of thought she simply placed her left pointer finger over the outlet and a moment later the laptop battery was fully charged and she went on typing away like a mad woman. Marshal stood quietly evaluating her for a moment and if she could still sense him standing over her, Sirah turned to give a questionable look at Marshal.  
“What?”  
“Nothing,” Marshal rose back up to his full height and began to walk back out to the hallway, he had to leave but was nervous about leaving Sirah. She didn’t seem to care about having power over everything and Marshal let himself relax a bit.  
Curiously Sirah typed in a few questions about electricity and power, the first sight that came up she clicked on and read very carefully. Soon she began to chuckle deep in her throat and she glance up at the ceiling light. Curious enough to see if it would work she focused her energy and found an electrical current already flowing through the object, her eyebrows knit together as she focused on the current and commanded it to activate. Suddenly the light flicked on and her chuckling grew louder, in the background Marshal began to fear for the whole human race.   
“You are going to destroy us.” Marshal had his hand in his hair and was watching Sirah mess with the lights.  
“Not at all, in fact I plan on using this to its full advantage in finding demons, I have no need or want to control humans, you are nothing compared to the forces I’ve seen.” The way Sirah spoke made Marshal believe she was really only out to do the job that had been etched into her very being but there was an odd tone about the way she talked down about humans that he didn’t like.  
“Do you really think so low of us?” Marshal asked, a little bit more stiffly than he wanted. Sirah turned her attention to Marshal, her focus on the lights had been halted as well.  
“You don’t understand yet the battle your race has been thrown into, you still haven’t seen how frail you are.” That was the only answer she gave before turning her back on him.


	3. Chapter Three

Marshal left the loft and Sirah in silence, her last comment stuck with him but he tried not to let Sirah’s words mess with him. He was going to go get Molly and take her to out, but after that he still wasn’t sure how he was going to explain a Valkyrie living with them now. Marshal shook that thought away, that would be something to deal with later. The drive to the hospital was shorter than he expected and Molly was waiting at the front doors, when she saw the truck she waved. Molly smiled, still wearing her doctor coat and scrubs as she hopped up into the truck and leaned over to give Marshal a kiss, her curly blond hair was wrapped up in a bun but a few pieces had come loose and fell over her face in little ringlets. Her chocolate brown eyes had a look of exhaustion but she was glad to be getting off work.  
“So where did you want to go?” Marshal asked, pulling away from the curb.  
“I don’t know, I actually really wanted to go home and take a hot bath, today was crazy.” She smiled but Marshal began to grow nervous.  
“Well why don’t we get something to eat beforehand?” Marshal sent a side glance over, Molly was making a face and he hoped she would reconsider.  
“Alright, but something light.” She finally gave in and smiled, Marshal breathed a little easier and nodded, that would give him a little time to figure things out.  
They stopped in a little restaurant and sat outside in the sunshine while Molly happily chewed on a berry salad.  
“Hey are you ok?” Molly asked, giving Marshal a careful look.  
“Yeah, I’ve just got a lot on my mind is all.” He tried to act casual but Molly kept her eyes on him.  
“What are you hiding?” She asked.  
“Nothing,” Marshal said a little too quickly and he wanted to kick himself for it. Molly frowned and gave him a careful look, chewing on her food slowly as she studied him.  
“Ok well I’d like to go home and take a bath.”  
Marshal bit his lip and tried not to panic as Molly began to rise from her chair, he hadn’t thought of anything to try and figure out how he was going to tell Molly about Sirah. The drive back was full of silent tension and Marshal felt like any moment he would break out in a sweat. As the parking garage came into view he began to panic a little more which caught Molly’s attention.  
“Is there something you want to tell me?” Her voice was on the edge of being upset. Marshal didn’t know how or what to reply so he kept his mouth shut tightly. They entered the garage and parked, as soon as the truck had come to a stop he was out and walking towards the doors to the building. Molly gave him a once over as they entered and Marshal grew fidgety the closer they got to the loft. Marshal was hoping for a miracle and that Sirah somehow got out and was flying around town but the closer they got they could hear the faint beat of music and Marshal began to physically panic. Molly’s eyes narrowed and she shot Marshal an angry glance, she stomped towards the front door but before she could reach for the door Marshal pounced in front of her and smiled meekly at Molly.  
“Just give me one second,” Marshal held up a finger, Molly huffed an irritated breath and crossed her arms but waiting like he asked. Marshal turned and opened the door slowly, there hunched on the back of the couch was Sirah watching T.V and eating a bowl of cereal. If there was ever a time Marshal wanted to strangle someone, it would have been now. Behind him, Molly was tired of waiting and pushed through the doorway. Marshal tried to stop her but at the commotion Sirah had turned to casually look back at them and Molly and Sirah locked eyes.  
“Hi,” Sirah said through a spoon full of cereal, she chewed casually as Molly’s face went white. Molly stared wide eyed with her jaw hanging open before she fell back and fainted. Sirah looked up at Marshal and shrugged.  
“Well that went better than planned.”  
Molly slowly opened her eyes, her head was pounding and felt heavier than she wanted. She looked around and found herself laying on the couch, Marshal and someone else were talking above her, she looked around and the T.V was on and was playing what looked to be a PS4 game. The screen was split in a two player mode.  
“How can you suck so bad at this?” Marshal’s voice came in an overly sarcastic tone. “I thought you were the all mighty slayer?”  
“Shut your whore mouth,” a woman’s voice growled back. Molly sat up and looked back at Marshal and the gorgeous woman sitting next to him. When they saw her sitting up Marshal paused the game and moved to her side.  
“Hey are you ok? You hit your head when you fell.”  
“Who is that?” Molly stared wide eyed at Sirah and looked over her wings. Sirah folded her arms and leaned back on the stool as Molly looked at her.  
“This is Sirah,” Marshal brushed a piece of hair out of Molly’s face.  
“Is she an-”  
“No, she’s a Valkyrie.” Marshal quickly stopped Molly before she could say angel, he remembered how Sirah acted when he had made that mistake and he didn’t want her breaking Molly’s neck. Molly frowned at Marshal then at Sirah who sighed in return then went on to tell Molly about the difference.  
“Also we Valkyries have the wings of owls, angels on the other hang have the wings of various other birds depending on what their job set is.”  
“Like a built in job description.” Molly said to herself, thinking deeply.  
“Bingo,” Sirah said holding up a finger. “Also they’re a bunch of pussy ass bitches.” She said while leaning back with her hands behind her head.  
“So what are the men like?” Molly asked moving closer to Sirah, she had gone into full doctor mode and she was trying to examine Sirah.  
“We don’t have males,” Sirah snorted as if what Molly said had been a funny joke. “Valkyries are all females.”  
“Then how do you breed?” Molly and Marshal both frowned at Sirah’s answer.  
“Human males,” Sirah’s gaze did a quick flash at Marshal as she spoke, he almost missed the movement of her eyes but thankfully Molly didn’t see it.   
“So your source of procreation comes from the human race, your species can’t live without us.”  
“Oh we can live without you, we just can’t reproduce without you.”  
“And the Angels?” Marshal chimed in because he was curious.  
“We’re sterol to them. Not that we’d want to let anything happen with them.” Sirah shivered, her face pinched in disgust.   
“Why do you hate the angels so much?” Molly frowned, almost as if she had been offended by Sirah’s reaction. When Sirah questioned her why she cared Molly responded that she was a firm believer in god, Sirah laughed and stood from the couch.  
“God doesn’t exist, every so often the Archangels will play games with humans when they get bored, they will make up new religions and they will take turns with the roles every so often because all four of them are greedy bastards and want to be the one in charge.”  
“And what about the devil?”  
“Lucifer was at one time an Archangel contrary to Christian beliefs, he was the only one to become a harpy and now we don’t know what he’s up to.” Sirah sighed deeply as she explained again what she had already told Marshal. “The other four idiots are Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, and Uriel.”  
“I thought there were more?” Molly watched Sirah as she walked, her wings flexing and moving around slightly.  
“I think I would have lost my mind if there were more.”  
“What are they like?” Molly settled back into her gaze of wonder as she watched Sirah turn to face her.  
“Gabriel is the most rambunctious of the four, he’s always getting into trouble and is a prankster most of the time. Michael tends to have the most power since he tries to act the leader most of the time, he acts like a big brother figure and he is the one we negotiate with the most. Raphael is the quietest, he’s very stern and doesn’t say a lot but out of the four he’s I guess the one you don’t want to mess with too much. Uriel is just an arrogant ass, the least favorite he is very selfish and tends to act stuck up a lot.” Sirah thought deeply as she explained the four characters and Molly nodded as Sirah described each one.  
“So there isn’t a god?” She seemed upset by the shake of Sirah’s head.  
“No, just pranks and tricks the Archangels like to pull on humans.”  
“What gives them the right to look down on us and mess with us?” Molly’s voice became louder at her angry protest and both Marshal and Sirah looked at her with an obviously questioning stare.  
“No offence but your kind is really, really stupid.”  
“Sirah!” Marshal snapped.  
“It’s true,” She shrugged one shoulder and moved to the kitchen area.  
“How is that possibly true?” Marshal put his hands on his hips and waited for an explanation, Molly waited silently on the couch.  
“Really? You want me to enlighten you again on how idiotic your kind is?” Sirah glanced at them with an eyebrow raised, when they didn’t answer she simply shrugged her shoulder again. Marshal pursed his lips at Sirah but kept his mouth shut, Molly frowned at his silence. “That’s what I thought, and that’s only the tip of the ice berg with you morons.” Sirah chuckled and resumed with her relaxed state. She crossed her legs, the fabric of her dress softly sighing at the motion of her skin.  
“So why even help us?” Marshal asked, Sirah paused for a long moment before looking at Marshal with steady eyes.  
“Because we need you to make sure our race lives on, don’t forget that Valkyries are technically half breeds because the Arch’s couldn’t keep it in their pants.”  
“Learning up on how to speak like a real human?” Marshal lifted an eye brow at her statement.  
“The better I can blend in the better I can track demons without looking like an idiot.” Sirah stretched her arm back and grabbed an apple from the center bowl on the island counter, biting into it, thinking about the taste as she ate.  
“If you help us defend ourselves against the demons will you help humans to be more careful about what they do?” Molly asked, turning around to hunch over the back of the couch.  
“Molly, tell me what the simplest explanation is for a virus.”  
“A microscopic organism that invades a host cell and starts to multiply and will take over the host’s functions and will continually make the host sicker and sicker until the host dies.” Molly thought for a moment before giving her answer.  
“Exactly.”  
“What?” Marshal looked between the two women, confused.  
“So what you’re saying is there is no way to help us?” Molly and Sirah went on talking like Marshal wasn’t even there.  
“That is the nature of the human race, you weren’t meant to help this world, you are simply here to kill it.”  
The conversation had ended after Sirah had made her point, Molly had fallen quiet and turned back around on the couch to sit in silence for some time. Sirah made her way out of the room and went back to the spare bedroom, Marshal followed after her.  
“Hey what the hell was that?” He asked when they were both inside the room, he closed the door to give them some privacy.  
“What was what?” Sirah snapped, her posture changed from relaxed to defensive.  
“Why did you say all of those things to Molly?”  
“She asked the questions and I simply answered them. You shouldn’t be getting angry at me.”  
“Did you have to be so harsh?”  
“Oh I’m sorry I didn’t think that you needed a sugar coated explanation.” Sirah spat the words in a growing fit of aggression, her fingers began to curl into fists.  
“I can’t believe how rude you are!” Marshal shot back, taking a step closer to Sirah.  
“Excuse me if I don’t give a flying fuck!” Sirah took a step closer and the energy coming off of her made it hard for Marshal to breathe, her wings flapped once and sent up a gust of wind at him. He could hear the slight sound of humming coming from around the room and noticed Sirah’s eyes had dilated to almost a complete black. She sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to calm herself down as best she could. Marshal didn’t even realize the danger he was getting himself into by getting her angry.   
“I need to fly.” She growled between her teeth and moved around Marshal as quiet as a ghost, throwing the door open and stalking down the hall towards the front door. Marshal flinched at the slam of the door against the wall and noticed the door knob was crumpled from the force Sirah had gripped it with.  
“Sirah,” Marshal called after her before following her after a moment of fear. “Please be careful and don’t be seen!”  
“Why the Hel not? Stop telling me what to do, you’re not my keeper.” She already had a hand on the front door.  
“You have wings! People are not going to take seeing you very well!” Marshal yelled in frustration, Molly looked at the both of them as they quarreled. Sirah clenched her jaw shut tight and stared at Marshal, who did he think he was to try to order her around? The light sitting on the wall near the door instantaneously sparked then exploded. Molly screamed in surprise and Marshal flinched away from the tiny explosion with his hands up over his head.  
“Shit,” Sirah said to herself, deflating all the anger she had built up, she was beginning to get a bit on edge. “I need to be able to fly, I can’t be cooped up all the time, it isn’t natural for me.” Sirah tried to explain as calmly as she could.   
“Well at least behave yourself when you’re out there.” Marshal still sounded angry and Sirah tried not to let his tone get to her, the arrogance of humans was beginning to bug.  
“Make me.” Sirah stated defiantly. The two stared at each other for some time, Marshal knew he really couldn’t stop her even if he wanted to.   
“Whatever, do what you want.” Marshal said and turned away from Sirah, she watched Marshal move to Molly’s side and sit next to her on the couch, grabbing the remote. Sirah thought about short circuiting the TV but she changed her mind, playing petty games wouldn’t get her anywhere. She opened the front door and left the loft then snapped her finger out and she heard the sound of the T.V cut off and Marshal’s roar of anger and she smiled in spite of herself, then again playing games was pretty fun.  
“Sirah!” Marshal as at the door frame, Sirah looked over her shoulder in surprise and began to run for the outside door. Marshal caught up with her quickly and tackled her from behind, surprisingly he knocked Sirah off her feet and the two went tumbling to the ground.  
“Get off me!” Sirah shoved her hand into Marshal’s face as she tried to untangle herself from Marshal.  
“Fix my T.V!”  
“No!” Sirah’s wings lifted and Marshal was pushed off her back, he reached out at the last second and wrapped his arm around Sirah’s neck. She made a grunting sound and grabbed Marshal’s shoulder with her right hand and flipped him with ease over her shoulder. Marshal watched his world spin and with a hard thump his back was on the ground. There was a scream from the end of the hallway and both Sirah and Marshal both looked to see an elderly cleaning maid staring in shock at the both of them. Marshal and Sirah sent a quick look at each other then back at the older woman before she started screaming again.  
“Well shit,” Sirah sighed unamused as Marshall jumped to his feet, lifted her over his shoulder and ran back to the loft.


	4. Chapter Four

The screams from the old woman continued to ring out through the hallway, her voice growing in pitch as her mouth opened to its full potential then continued to stretch open. Sirah glanced up at the old woman as Marshal kept hold of her bobbing body over his shoulder. The woman’s eyes widened then a black pigment filled them completely, like a drop of dye had been dropped into them. Her scream pitched then gurgled, changing into an animalistic howl as her teeth slowly grew pointed and sharp, thinning and multiplying into long needle like rows. Her cheeks began to rip apart at the force of her jaw until her skin looked like a thin layer of old latex.  
“Oh, I got this one.” Sirah smiled as she watched the demon shift into it’s real self, she patted Marshal on the shoulder as the demon began to race towards them as she continued to scream. Before Marshal could say anything, Sirah hoisted herself up onto his shoulder into a crouching position then launched herself up into the air, her wings fully spread wide open. The tips of her wings brushed against the walls in a soft caress as Sirah glided through the air like a silent breath, as she waited for the demon to come closer.  
“Sirah!” Marshal screamed, the demon had turned her attention from Sirah to Marshal and was running right for him, her mouth still open and screaming at the top of her lungs. Sirah frowned, a twitch shocked through her body at the demon’s choice in choosing Marshal as her target. Sirah twisted her body around in a flip as she came down on the demon, her wings turning from harmless feathers into blades as they slit the demon’s throat like butter. Sirah landed on the opposite side wall, kicked off of it as soon as her foot touched the cool surface. Sirah twisted with another flip and angled herself to land the blow with her heel into the demon’s temple.  
The force of the hit sent the demon wheeling to the ground, it’s body twisting into an unusual shape as it hit the floor.  
“Sirah!” Marshal took a step forward, Molly had appeared at the front door and silently watched with a hand over her mouth.  
“Stay back!” Sirah commanded in a stern voice, she glanced back at the demon as it continued to morph into it’s true self.  
The demon’s arms slowly elongated and thinned, becoming stilt-like as the skin began to melt off in rolling loose flaps. As the arms stretched the legs began to shorten, growing smaller and smaller until they were just messily stumps. The demon began to prop itself up as it breathed heavily in a slow rhythm.  
“Sirah kill it!” Marshal stated loudly, walking slowly backwards until he was a few feet from the door, Molly clutching at the back of his shirt. Sirah stood silently as she watched the demon, her eyes fixed on the creature as it rose up off the ground, hunched close to the floor with its fore arm elbows raised high into the air, the demon began moving like a spider. She stayed silent as the demon’s head twitched from side to side as it looked down the hallway at Marshal, the demon’s head hesitated for a second as it’s depthless eyes locked onto Marshal, it’s mouth opened with a low hiss as drool dripped from the many layers of needle-like teeth.  
“Sirah!” Marshal almost screamed her name but Sirah remained silent as she watched the demon lock onto him. It slowly began to crawl towards Marshal, picking up the pace as it skittered across the floor like an insect, screeching as the distance between it and Marshal closed. Molly began screaming as the demon grew closer with increasing speed. Finally Sirah pivoted and jumped at the demon, landing on its back and crushing it into the floor. She jumped off the demon and landed a few feet from Marshal, Her gaze grazed with his as she turned to face the demon, her face a mask of calm indifference. The demon hissed and rose back up off the ground, it’s attention now on Sirah. She centered herself, her wings fanning out in a protective stance as she stood between the demon and Marshal.  
The demon raced at her, mouth fully open with its teeth ready to bite down into flesh. With a flash of movement Sirah drop kicked the demon’s face with so much force that the demon’s jaw broke off and it’s lower teeth were jammed up through the roof of its mouth and were sticking up out of its face. The sound of breaking bones sounded like the echo of a thick tree limb breaking and the noise made Marshal sick to his stomach. The demon’s head flew back up into the air, black blood spurting across the ceiling. The demon landed on its back, squealing like a stuck pig as it scrambled to get back on its feet. Sirah marched over to the creature and stood over it, due to the morphing of the demon’s arm bones it no longer had the rotation it needed to flip itself back over, she glared down at the creature with a blank stare before grabbing it by the throat and tossing it up against the wall. She shoved it, cracking the wall then drove her fist into its abdomen, black blood spurted out over the shoulder of her dress but Sirah paid it no mind, she grabbed the demon up by the base of the rib cage with one hand then shoved her free hand up into its chest cavity, ripping out everything from the inside. The demon immediately stopped flailing and squealing, now laying limp in her hand. Sirah let the heap of rotting flesh fall to the ground as she turned to Marshal and Molly.  
“You ok?” Sirah finally asked, looking Marshal over carefully.  
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he breathed, Sirah nodded her head in content and turned to head out of the building.  
“Get back inside, I have to make sure to clear the area so stuff like this doesn’t happen again.”  
“Don’t get caught,” Marshal was able to muster up the words, speaking through the dryness that had settled into his mouth, Sirah waved a hand up over her head in acknowledgement as she made her way out.  
Two weeks had gone by and the living arrangements with Sirah and Marshal were beginning to grow more and more tense. Molly watched them silently from the background as Marshal and Sirah argue and bicker with one another. Molly always feared for Marshal when she left for work, she was beginning to see a growing hostility in Sirah’s actions. Molly had kept a close eye on Sirah which Sirah hated, she didn’t like feeling like she was being studied and she had made that point very clear to Molly but she just couldn’t help it. Here was this gorgeous woman with a wing span of over twelve feet wide with super natural abilities and otherworldly biological mysteries Molly was just dying to test out. Molly had thought over countless times she could have asked Sirah to perform some tests but the Valkyrie kept her health and other personal information to herself. She had been gracious enough to explain a little bit about her kind’s history but any further prodding about her kind or anything else made her agitated, Molly had to learn what she had missed from Marshal. Which was also an odd issue, Sirah and Marshal quarreled like cats and dogs but strange enough Sirah always ended up being more docile with him. She was careful not to let her temper get too out of hand around him, but she normally shrugged off most things with Molly.  
Molly would try to ask Sirah a question and she would lock down and not say a word but with enough prodding from Marshal she told him anything. Molly bit her lip as she was dropped off at the hospital, she tipped the cab driver and got out. Most people would have thought a big time doctor would have their own luxury car and in most cases they did but she didn’t like to drive. As she made her way into the hospital Molly knew she had to fix the living arrangements before things got out of hand any further, she saw the way that Sirah’s fingers clenched and unclenched at the thought of flying out and killing demons. Her wings were beginning to move around more in a restless manor as well, and the way she kept eyeing every window in the loft was beginning to make Molly think she’d make a break for the sky any day now. Just as Molly was beginning to drift off into finding a different place to live a voice called out to her.  
“Excuse me Doctor but are you Ms. Guarder?”  
“I am,” Molly’s attention moved from her thoughts to the tall slender gentleman standing in front of her wearing a suit, he was smiling brightly at her from behind his designer framed glasses.  
“I’d like to have a word with you, if you don’t mind.” The man said politely as he held an arm out and gestured Molly to walk with him. “It won’t take long, I only have to ask you a few questions.”  
“Uh sure, but it has to be quick I need to dress for work, I have surgeries scheduled.”  
“I understand completely doctor, now if you’d please.” The man smiled gently and let Molly take the lead.  
“Sirah where the hell is my phone!” Marshal yelled down the hall from the bathroom.  
“How should I know?” Sirah snapped back, her voice was battling against the sound of the T.V.  
“Because you like to squirrel my stuff!” he yelled back, he could hear Sirah scoff and he clenched his jaw. He wrapped a towel around his waist and stomped out into the open. Sirah was sitting on the back of the couch her head resting on her knees while she watched T.V, her dress had been replaced with some of Molly’s clothes, some loose black gym shorts and a black bikini top.  
“What the hell are you doing? Get off the back of the couch!”  
“Make me bitch.” Sirah challenged, she was eyeing him up as well. Marshal noticed her eyeing him up and he cleared his throat, she didn’t stop, she had literally no shame.  
“What?” he finally asked, Sirah shook her head then went back to watching the news. Her focus became serious again and she watched the screen carefully.  
“That woman on the right is a demon.” Sirah said matter-of-factly.  
“What? Really? How can you tell?” Marshal walked up to her side and squinted at the screen.  
“For me it’s easy, it’s like being able to tell the difference between something that’s fake and something that’s real.”  
“That’s a very vague explanation.” Marshal frowned down at her, Sirah simply shrugged then pointed at the T.V.  
“I can spot it no problem but for a human of course it’s about ten times harder, there are small signs you can pick up on though. Demons can take the shape of a human but it’s kind of like wearing a rubber mask for them, look at the way she smiles.”  
Marshal looked up at the woman and his frown only deepened, her smile looked fine, he turned for Sirah for more help.  
“Or look at the movements of her eyes, that’s another one.” Sirah nodded her head and Marshal looked again. “You have to look hard, but every time her eyes move look at the inner corners.”  
Marshal focused on the points Sirah had instructed to look and he focus for a few minutes, he was beginning to think she was just pranking him again when a flash of yellow crossed his vision and Marshal froze.  
“You saw it huh?” Sirah’s voice told him she was happy with him finally seeing it, he nodded. “When you focus on the corners of a demon’s eyes if they’re in disguise you can get flashes of their real eyes underneath. Of course there are many types of demons with different skill sets and abilities.” Sirah’s mood changed from a nonchalant, frail looking woman into a dangerous immortal warrior.  
“That’s insane.” Marshal listened to Sirah as he watched the flash of yellow at the corner of the eye again, it was like the woman was wearing huge contacts and every so often a certain movement would loosen the white at the edges and yellow would peak through but only for a flash of a second.  
“There are some demons that have their eyes sewn shut or molded shut but those guys are different,” Sirah flicked her wrist a little as she spoke but then she settled back down into place again.  
“What’s different about those demons?” Marshal asked finally taking his eyes off the T.V.  
“Those demons have mystic powers, there aren’t a lot of them and oddly enough they actually have some brains unlike a lot of demons.”  
“What kind of powers?” Marshal asked but Sirah shrugged.  
“I don’t know, I’ve never actually met a mystic but I’ve heard stories about them. They’re very wise and about as old as the Archangels, long ago they pardoned themselves from the war and became hermits. Apparently if you go to them with a gift and you ask them a question they will answer it for you, but most of the time the answers they give you are vague and you have to find out the true meaning for yourself.”  
“What about harpies? What are they like?”  
It took a moment for Sirah to respond and Marshal could see she had experience with them.  
“They still have wings but they look withered and mangy, their hair is replaced with feathers and their body molds into this misshapen mix between a human and bird. Their fingers become claws and their feet actually change into the feet of a bird, they keep their eyes though. Their eyes are the same as when they were normal but they get a crazed look to them.” Sirah’s voice trailed off as she finished, Marshal wondered if Sirah had faced harpies that were once friends so he decided to ask her.  
“Have you ever seen people, you once knew before?”  
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Sirah switched back to her old self, she saw the disgruntled look on his face and something behind her gaze went ridged. “You can’t feel sorrow or pity for them, they died when they became harpies and they are no longer the people from before. A harpy would claw out your guts with pleasure and then play in your blood just to spite you as you lay there dying. If they see weakness in you they will prey on that to lower your guard, then they will kill you and do it very slowly.”  
“Have you seen Lucifer?” Marshal decided to change the subject.  
“What? Are you crazy? No I haven’t and I would rather never have to face him. No one has seen him since he fell from Asgard, not even the Valkyries want to face him. He was an Archangel after all and who knows what strengths and powers crossed over with him when he became a harpy but no Valkyrie is able to take on an Archangel unless she becomes a Queen.”  
“So if he decides to make a comeback-”  
“We’re all dead. But no one knows why he hasn’t made an appearance yet, however no one’s complaining about it either.” Sirah rubbed her chin in thought and her wings shifted restlessly on her back.  
“What was Lucifer like?” Marshal suddenly asked, trying to get an idea of the situation.  
“He was the smooth cunning one, very sly and always had something up his sleeve.” Sirah wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the subject as she spoke.  
“Did you ever see him before?”  
“No, he fell sometime around my grandmother’s reign.”  
“So there are still some Valkyries who are actually the descendants of Lucifer around?”  
“Most likely but Valkyries either keep a tight lock on who they’re makers were or they don’t know at all.” Sirah stretched her wings out to their full length, then moved them about to give them a work out.  
“Why are the origins of your makers so hush hush?” Marshal asked as Sirah’s wing brushed over him a few times, they felt like cool silk against his skin and he had to fight the urge to shiver.  
“It gives that Archangel power over a Valkyrie if they find out that they are a descendant.”  
“And having power over a Valkyrie is a no go right?” Marshal waited for Sirah to nod back to confirm his comment but she shook her head instead.  
“Not in that case, it’s difficult to explain but the best way I can put it is that if an Archangel finds out that a Valkyrie is his descendant he can overrule any claim from the laws. It’s like a loophole that even my grandmother couldn’t negotiate around, so the Valkyries keep their maker’s identity a well-guarded secret if they even know it at all.”  
“Why would any of you know your makers anyway? Wouldn’t a mother just not tell her child which one he is?”  
“It’s more complicated than that. Many Valkyries still think it is necessary to know who you came from as a part of our history, to not know who you came from is like not knowing how you came to be.”  
“And you don’t know who you came from?” Marshal watched as Sirah shook her head, her normal look wavered a bit but he couldn’t tell why.  
“My mother was one of the Valkyries who thought we needed to be completely free from the Archangels, she was a Valkyrie purest.” Sirah laughed, amused at the thought of her mother. “But I actually never met my mother, she gave birth to me then went straight back to battle and left me in the care of Valhalla.”  
“Rough childhood?” Marshal asked and Sirah looked mischievously at him.  
“For them,” She smiled, apparently she had been a handful. “But I was still a child when my mother died, she never came to visit me or even see me. That’s the way she believed things were done, it doesn’t bother me much.”  
“Still has to be a bit rough not knowing your mother, did you know your father?”  
“Valkyries mate then leave, they don’t stick around with their male partners for very long.” Sirah got up from the couch, her wings made one large sweep and she lifted up off the couch in a jump and landed a few feet behind Marshal. She turned and walked to the kitchen to get something to drink.  
“You have a very strange way of life.” Marshal confessed as he tried to fix his hair from the wind of Sirah’s leap. He couldn’t help but look over her body while she was turned away from him, she was smoothly built and very toned.  
“I could say the same thing about you.” Sirah turned and smiled ruefully at Marshal, he was glad they were back on friendly terms, he liked learning about her.  
“Hey I’ve been thinking and I understand it must be like hell to just sit around all day and night not being able to fly, why don’t I take you farther out of the city one night and cut you loose?”  
“You cut me loose I’ll be on the hunt for demons.” Sirah warned. Marshal rolled his eyes and nodded, like he didn’t know. Killing demons was primarily what Sirah talked about all the time.  
“We should get you some clothes you can wear too, which will be a task all on its own since we have to get specific clothes for you.” Marshal eyed her clothing as he thought about what they’d be searching for, as his gaze lingered over her he finally came to look at her chest. Marshal quickly looked away after he realized what he was doing. “Of course Molly is going to have to help you with most of it, probably all of it.”  
“Probably,” Sirah mused, unaware of Marshal’s wandering eye. Sirah had moved to the other side of the room to turn her attention towards the laptop, she had increasingly become more familiar with it and was making progress in finding out the social ties in the demon community. Watching a lot of T.V was offering some help as well, the demons were sloppy in their attempts to hide themselves, Marshal only guessed it was because Valkyries hadn’t shown themselves on Earth for such a long time that the demons no longer thought it was necessary to hide effectively. Marshal checked the time on his phone it wasn’t too long into the day but he wanted to go do some errand shopping before it got too late into the day, even though the summer season was coming to a close the weather outside was still brutally hot out in the early afternoon.  
There was a knock on the door that caught his attention, Marshal glanced at the door for a moment with a puzzled look, who could that be? There was another knock and he turned to walk to the door, his hand out stretched for the handle when Sirah’s voice called out from behind him in such an aggressive tone it made him flinch.  
“Get away from the door!” She was standing with her feet shoulder length apart and her wings open. Marshal frowned at her and was just about to open his mouth to question her hostility when the door exploded. Marshal was thrown down on his stomach and he blinked to regain his vision, there were wood splinters all over the floor and broken door pieces. He turned to look up and a man stood towering over him, he was staring at Marshal with an evil smile.  
“So you’re the one that’s been hiding the Valkyrie.” He said but as he spoke his words became jumbled and his voice began to gurgle and deepen. His whole figure started to change, the man’s skin seemed to melt like the old woman before and his smile held sharply pointed teeth that were badly yellowed. The man blinked and his eyes changed to a yellow pigment, Marshal felt his skin ice over, it was another demon.  
Suddenly Sirah cam swooping in from behind and landed a powerful kick to the demon’s chest, the sound of her impact against the demon’s chest made Marshal feel sick. It stumbled back and fell, she turned and scooped Marshal’s shoulder up and tossed him towards the couch without a word. She then turned to the demon, he was struggling to get up, there were cracking sounds coming from his chest but the demon seemed to ignore the pain. It lunged for Sirah, she jumped to dodge his attack but her head hit the ceiling and the demon grabbed her ankle. He slammed her back on the ground, denting the floor. Marshal grit his teeth as the demon tossed Sirah from side to side, into the wall then back on the ground. There was a flash of wings moving together like scissor blades and the demons screamed, falling backwards while black tar-like blood oozed from his stump arm.  
“Well that was embarrassing,” Sirah scoffed standing up and brushing herself off, “Though I’m not used to fighting in closed spaces, hold on while I change that.” She ran at the demon, dodging an attack and lifting him by the shirt, he was trying to change completely now but Sirah simply smiled and threw the demon up over her head at the kitchen area. The demon flew through the air and landed behind the island counter. She took a moment to look to Marshal who was staring wide eyed at her.  
“Get back!” She demanded as the demon launched itself towards him, in mid-air Sirah intercepted him and they both went tumbling to the ground. The demon’s tongue went lashing out like a whip, long and thin and it raked the area for Marshal. It ripped up the couch and the floor as it whipped around and Marshal stumbled backwards to get away with it.  
The demon pushed the couch out of the way like it weighed nothing, the furniture went sailing across the room and collided with the wall. Sirah was sitting on top of the demon, her right hand was plunged into its chest and her left hand dove like a spear into the demon’s mouth and ripped his tongue out. The demon squealed like a pig and flailed, the tar blood oozed out of its mouth in a thick sludge. Sirah put a foot down on the demon’s chest and stood over it, her back straight and standing tall, then her wings crisscrossed in front of her and decapitated the demon. Sirah looked over at Marshal, not even winded and he was panting like he had just run a marathon.  
“Trust me, normally I fight a lot better.” She said as she stepped over the dead body, it was already deteriorating.  
“You were worried that your showmanship during all of that wasn’t the best?” Marshal was wide eyed as Sirah stepped closer to him, her hands on her hips she glanced over at the demon and whistled a little.  
“Would it insult you if I say it did?” She glanced over at Marshal with an eyebrow raised and he about crumpled to the ground. “Hey pull yourself together.” Sirah slapped him on the shoulder before walking towards where the door used to be.  
“Where are you going?” He called, following after her as he tried not to stumble in the demon’s blood, he picked up his keys from the side table as he followed Sirah out. He noticed that Sirah was still barefoot, she really did not like shoes.  
“I’ve wasted enough time here, the demons are starting to seek me out and in any other circumstance I would be fine with that but I’m not going to let them kill anyone.”  
“Really?” Marshal stared at Sirah with a new found admiration.  
“Well yeah, that’s my job.” Sirah almost seemed offended that he didn’t know that, Sirah smiled as Marshal frowned disappointedly back at her.  
“So what happens now?” Marshal asked, glancing over at the decaying corpse of the demon, the floor was beginning to stain with the black color of its blood.  
“I get down to business.”


	5. Chapter Five

“You think this is funny?” Marshal’s voice could be heard out in the hallway, Molly stopped in mid-stride to listen to the argument quietly.  
“I haven’t had this much fun in a few hundred years if that gives you a clue.” Sirah said as her laughter rang out as clear as a bell. Molly inched closer, almost holding her breath as she quietly nudged the door open and peaked inside. Sirah was sitting on the back of what used to be the couch like usual but her back was facing the T.V, her feathers bent slightly at the tips as they brushed against the couch cushions. Molly frowned as she looked around the room, the place was totally destroyed.  
“People are going to know about you! What the hell were you thinking just letting yourself be seen like that?” Marshal’s voice began to rise again as he spoke to Sirah, she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply.  
“Ok, I think you keep forgetting that obviously I don’t give a flying fuck if humans see me, your kind has no way of even coming close to touching me. Also this was a warning to demons, I’m not here to hide away, I’m here to kill them. You humans will have to learn that you’re not even close to being the strongest creature out there, you’ll have to except the fact that there are forces greater than you and we will go about our business without any regards to you.” Sirah folded her arms and spoke strongly towards Marshal as if she had already made up her mind.  
“So you wouldn’t have cared if you killed anyone?”  
“Not really, but killing humans wasn’t my intention so I made sure not to harm any of you. I had to make sure there weren’t any more demons hiding in there, the less of them there are the better.”  
“Sirah you’ve made yourself out to look like the bad guy.” Marshal pointed at the screen, Sirah glanced at it for a moment before looking back at Marshal, unaffected.  
“It doesn’t matter what I’ve been accused of, what matters is the actions that I make.”  
Marshal was taken back by Sirah’s mature statement and he took a second to look her over as he thought.  
“That still doesn’t make what you did any better.”  
Sirah shrugged then gracefully hoped off the couch to stroll by Marshal, “Molpadia used to say that all the time when she was being broody with me.”  
“Molpadia?” Marshal raised an eyebrow and watched as Sirah crossed her legs, a smile spreading across her lips which made Marshal think she almost looked like an ordinary girl.  
“Yeah she was the amazon Valkyrie who looked after my savage ass while I was at the North Point. She beat a lot of sense into me while I was there, damn it was some good times.” Sirah laughed, letting her wings fold forward around herself.  
“You mean to tell me you were even worse than you are now?”  
“Oh buddy you better believe it.” Sirah was still smiling but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes this time.  
“What was the North Point like?”  
“Day and night tortured labor, fighting demons all day every day and some nights with hardly any sleep. Sometimes we ate as we flew into battle before we got blood on us, when we weren’t killing demons we were testing each other’s strength in battle rings.”  
“Holy shit,”  
“Yeah, the amazons don’t fuck around.”  
“What do they look like?” Marshal was curious as Sirah opened up a small window into her past.  
“Huge, all of them are over six foot tall, more muscular than most men and they have a fantastic sense of twisted humor.”  
“They sound like wonderful people,”  
“Oh and they’re gorgeous, let me tell you the amazons are some well-rounded ladies, some odd life choices probably due to being stuck in literal night and day battles but all around they are some pretty savvy ladies.”  
“They have a lot of PTSD?”  
“What?” Sirah looked over at Marshal with a questionable gaze, her forehead scrunched into a frown.  
“Post-traumatic stress disorder, like they saw a lot of terrible stuff they can’t get over.” Marshal explained it to Sirah and she laughed once.  
“Hmm that must be a human thing.” Sirah craned her head for a moment as she thought but shook her head in the end.  
“Sirah,” Marshal’s voice became soft and Molly carefully nudged the door open a little farther to listen to what he was saying, she breathed carefully and as softly as she could but her heart beat was rushing through her head so loudly she almost missed what he said.  
“The reason you’re protecting humans, is there someone you care about somewhere on Earth? Someone you can’t see harmed?”  
There was silence for a moment and Sirah turned her body so she was looking at Marshal almost like a godly statue, she glanced down at the ground before she spoke.  
“You and Molly are the first human’s I’ve meet since the age of the Vikings, so if there was any people before they wouldn’t be alive today.” Sirah spoke in an unusually soft tone. “I have to protect all humans, not for myself but for other Valkyries.”  
“Why?” Marshal asked but it took a moment for Sirah to respond back, silence filled the air and Molly held as still as she could.  
“Sirah?” Marshal’s voice was low and had a hint of concern hanging on the edge of his lips.  
“Don’t worry about it.” Sirah finally stated quietly and walked back into the hallway and disappeared.  
“Hey, that doesn’t mean I’m not done talking to you about what happened today!” Marshal called after Sirah but as she disappeared down the hallway Marshal rested his hand in his face with a deep, tired sigh.  
“What happened today?” Molly finally spoke up, entering the doorway and looking over at Marshal with a sad smile. Me looked tired, dark circles were beginning to form under his eyes, his normally short cut hair was now starting to fall in loose ringlets around his eyebrows. Molly recalled he was supposed to get a haircut the morning he met Sirah, Molly could only guess that everything had been shoved to the way-side since the Valkyrie entered their lives.  
“A demon attacked us this morning, destroyed the place while fighting Sirah then after she killed it she went out on a rampage through the area and killed about ten other demons out in plain view, it’s all over the news.”  
“What? Was she seen?” Molly went wide eyed as she got closer, glancing over at the reporter on the screen, the volume was muted but the obvious discussion was over the ten piles found strewn throughout the downtown area. Marshal unmuted the volume so Molly could listen to the report.  
“-In other news these mysterious black piles of liquid and tar like substances have yet to be identified, found throughout the downtown area mostly in the back alleys. One eye witness stated they saw an odd behavior concerning a young man and a woman.” When the reporter stopped talking the screen flashed to the eye-witness.  
“Yes, I was sitting out here waiting for the bus when I noticed across the street that there was a young man, I don’t know what it was about him that made me so unnerved but I kept my eye on him, he just looked like a shady character you know? Well I was just sitting there, just looking out over the street when I saw a young lady appear from the alley, she was leaning un against the wall, minding her own business when I saw out of the corner of my eye that the man had immediately taken up interest in her. Now she was absolutely gorgeous, don’t get me wrong but this man immediately made a b-line for her, when she saw him coming she disappeared back into the alley way, now I noticed something behind her but I didn’t get a good look due to the fact that she walked backwards back into the alley, and since it was an open archway back in there she disappeared around the corner along with the man. I went back there to investigate ‘cuz something just didn’t seem right and that’s when I found this black, foul smelling stuff strewn across the walls and a big black pile of nasty goop. Nothing else was around, not the man and not the lady.”  
Marshal muted the T.V again and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, he took a moment to watched the muted screen with Molly for a moment before looking back over at her.  
“Sirah said she did this as a warning to all demons, the news has been straight chaos, no one videotaped the event but they’ve been giving detailed descriptions of Sirah.  
“What did Sirah say?”  
“That she was getting down to business.” Marshal shrugged, throwing his hands in the air and letting them fall loudly back down to his sides. Molly watched Marshal, he seemed so irritated by the situation, he couldn’t stand still.  
“I’ll go talk to her,” Molly finally suggested before walking back towards the spare bedroom, she knocked before entering the dark room. The blinds were drawn and closed tightly, none of the lights were on which gave the room a quiet, dark calmness.  
“Did you need something?” Sirah’s velvet voice spoke out from a stool she had moved to the corner of the room close to the windows, she was hunched slightly forward in her sitting position, her eyes were fixed on a crack in the blinds that let her see outside. Her skin and wings almost gave off a soft glow from the setting light outside that made her stand out in the dark room like a beacon. When Molly didn’t speak right away Sirah stole a moment to glance over at her, the golden color of her eyes hit Molly like a beam of hot light as the Valkyrie focused her attention on her. If this had been the first time that Molly would have seen Sirah she would have thought she was dreaming, Sirah lifted an eyebrow at Molly in her impatience.  
“How did today go?” Molly finally found her voice again, clearing her throat before speaking. Sirah’s eyes glinted in the fading light as she focused back on the outside world.  
“It went well enough, tomorrow should be fun though now that I have the demons’ attention. They’ve gotten pretty lazy in their comfortable surroundings. They haven’t had to worry about a Valkyrie in such a long time that they’ve become very cocky.”  
“Are you sure that is the best thing to do? Maybe you should lay low for a few days before going out again.”  
“A demon attacked the condo, Molly. They know where I am and they know there are humans living with me, they’ve made two bold and open attempts and those two attacks won’t be the last. I need to start doing the job I came here to do.”  
“And what’s that?” Molly questioned the Valkyrie, Sirah straightened her back and slowly turned her head to face Molly again, her statuesque posture seemed almost unreal with her wings shifting slightly on her back.  
“Killing demons, I know Marshal tends to get sassy towards me when I get myself into situations that might expose me but he forgets that I’m here with a mission, he’s trying so hard to keep me hidden out of fear of what might happen to me if I go out there but he needs to understand that decision is not up to him, he needs to understand he is not responsible for me or my actions.” Sirah’s voice became soft as she spoke, she looked down at the ground for a moment before taking a deep breath and standing from the stool.  
“You and I both know I can’t stop you, and I won’t even try but please do me one favor and try to keep Marshal and I clear of this, as much as you can.” Molly’s voice started out strong but the more Sirah focused on her, the more her voice wavered.  
“It’s a little too late for that.”  
Molly bit her lip, clenching and unclenching her fists as her palms grew sweaty, she could feel her heart beating faster as the next question formed on the tip of her tongue but Molly was terrified to actually say it.  
“If you have something to say, just say it.” Sirah sighed, bored with the conversation so she turned her attention to her finger tips, she was focusing intently on them as little tendrils of electricity started to appear.  
“What are you still doing here with us?” Molly waited a moment in silence as she waited for Sirah to respond but the Valkyrie kept her eyes focused on her finger tips, an unwavering gaze settled over Sirah’s eyes as she thought deeply on the question. Finally she looked to Molly, still without speaking a word then started to move towards her. Molly felt her body go ridged automatically as Sirah came close but she simply cut eye contact with her and moved out of the room.  
“What time is it?” Sirah called to Marshal, listening intently for a response.  
“Close to seven why?” Marshal poked his head around the corner and looked questionably at Sirah.  
“I need to do some more killing.” Sirah started to stretch out her arms and legs, Marshal gave her a well set frown as he watched her, she saw the look out of the corner of her eye and growled in irritancy.  
“What?” She snapped.  
“You look like a complete idiot.” Marshal gave her outfit a once over like she was the most shameful thing on the face of the planet.  
“Your fault for not clothing me right! Where’s my dress ill just change back into that.”  
“Well considering the fabric it’s made out of isn’t from Earth, Molly doesn’t know how to wash it properly.”  
“Just throw it in some cold water and scrub it,” Sirah frowned back at him, she could feel another argument with him start to arise. She started moving towards the door, her temper flaring up a bit.  
“Are you still going to go out in just a bikini top and shorts?” Marshal questioned Sirah again and she stopped dead in her tracks to slowly turn to face him again.  
“Every day I don’t kill you is a testament to my sanity.” Sirah poked a finger towards Marshal which made him smile, he loved to just get under her skin. “Besides I thought things were being bought online for me,”  
“They are, or were. I’m not entirely sure since that was Molly’s job.”  
“Well hopefully they get here soon,” Sirah let herself calm down again, the two of them stood there for a moment in content silence before Sirah gave Marshal a glance. “I’ll be back soon.”  
“Try not to get hurt,” Marshal smiled ruefully and watched as Sirah left, closing the door behind herself.  
“I’m surprised she’s still hanging around with us.” Molly’s voice startled Marshal, he whipped around to see her leaning up against the wall. Her deep brown eyes locked onto him as Molly watched him, she had her hair down which normally didn’t happen very often and her blonde hair fell in crazy curls down to her shoulder. Molly folded her arms and stared accusingly at Marshal which made him uncomfortable.  
“What?”  
“What is going on with you?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I see the way you act with her, ever since Sirah got here it’s like all you see is her.” Molly’s expression went soft in the way Marshal knew it did when she was getting ready to cry.  
“Hey,” He spoke softly and walked over to hug Molly tightly. “What’s wrong?”  
“You spend so much time with her, and you act so concerned for her.” Molly tried to fidget out of Marshal’s arms but he only held her tightly and tried to suppress the laughter rising up in the back of his throat.  
“Molly there is nothing going on between me and Sirah, I love you.” Marshal took Molly’s chin and looked deep into her eyes before kissing her gently. “I just worry for her because she’s so brazen and rash about all of her choices. I just worry that she’s going to get hurt is all.”  
“But she’s not your concern!” Molly spoke with a bit more annoyance than she wanted to but she didn’t care, they were alone.  
“In a way she kind of is, I was the one who found her on the beach and I brought her back here. I couldn’t have just walked away and left her there in the sand but I didn’t, and I feel like I’m a little responsible for her is all.”  
“You don’t need to feel responsible for her, Marshal. Jesus, she’s older than both of our families combined. She can take care of herself so stop worrying about her so much.” Molly buried her face into Marshal’s shirt and breathed in deeply, he always smelt so minty and it was Molly’s favorite thing in the whole world.  
Marshal stood quietly with Molly wrapped in his arms, she had never been this upset over anything before and it confused him slightly. He didn’t understand what the big deal was, he was just watching out for Sirah so she didn’t hurt herself or any innocent people.  
“Promise me one thing,” Molly’s voice ripped Marshal away from his thoughts as he refocused on Molly, rubbing her back gently. “Can we start spending more time together?”  
“Of course,” Marshal smiled to himself and kissed the top of Molly’s head.  
*  
“Where’s your swarm leader?” Sirah’s monotone voice aired on the side of anger as she waited for the demon she had caught to speak. She had her hand gripped around the creature’s neck tight enough to the point of bruising, the demon was still fully concealed in a human form and he dangled a good foot off the ground, struggling for air under her grip. Gurgling sounds were the only audible sound that came from the demon’s throat as he tried to struggle against her, flailing his arms at her in a sorry attempt to break free.  
“I’m not going to ask again,” Sirah’s frown deepened as she slammed the demon against the wall. She lowered him for a moment so the demon could talk if he chose to, she waited impatiently as he gasped for breath, leaning over with his hands on his knees. Sirah rolled her eyes at his dramatics, young demons were such a pain to deal with.  
“Go fuck yourself!” The demon spat out.  
“Oh now you see,” Sirah squatted down so she could look at the demon’s face, her voice had returned to a pleasant tone. “That’s the wrong answer.” In a flash Sirah threw an upper cut up at the demon, a long trail of black blood went shooting out of his mouth as his head was sent sailing backwards. Sirah then proceeded to cup the back of the demon’s head with her hand and smash his face against her knee. The demon let out a squeal of pain as blood gushed from his face, Sirah just watched the young demon intently, looking over at the two other young spawns who were accompanying him.  
“Are either of you going to tell me who your swarm leader is?” Sirah asked, her pleasant voice had disappeared back into full aggression.  
“Don’t tell her anything!” The demon wiggling around on the ground below Sirah spat out the words to his friends through his own pain.  
“Enough of you,” Sirah sighed, bored with his arrogance. She lifted her foot up and stepped down on his skull, a loud cracking noise came up from the demon’s skull as Sirah pushed down on him slowly. His skull began to bend under her strength, blood began trickling out in his hair line as he struggled against the slow agonizing pain from getting his skull crushed in.  
The demon began to make an array of animalistic noises as Sirah pressed down, a stern look on her face as she watched the demon below her foot get his skull crushed in. She could feel his skull begin to break under her foot, unable to compete with the force she was pressing down on it, it wouldn’t take long before it shattered like an egg shell. The demon began to claw at her leg in a feeble attempt to try to break free but he still didn’t realize he was no match for her. Sirah sighed deeply, not sure if she was more bored or frustrated with these young demons. She finally ended the demon, pushing down with her foot the rest of the way so his skull cracked and concaved into his brain. The demon immediately stopped squirming and laid still as black blood oozed out of what used to be his skull.  
“Now are you going to tell me what I want to hear or not?” Sirah glanced menacingly over at the other two. The remaining two demons took a moment to glance at each other. There was one other male and a female but of course Sirah knew the gender of the disguise didn’t matter, all demons were both male and female sexes, which sex they took for their disguise just mattered on which one they liked better.  
“I can’t guarantee much but there is one thing I can promise, a slow, painful death if you don’t tell me what I need to know.” Sirah cracked her knuckles as she impatiently waited for an answer out of either of them.  
“Our leader will avenge our deaths, we won’t betray him.” The female spoke up with pride in her voice, she held her chin up high to Sirah and promptly had her head taken off with one graceful swipe of Sirah’s wing.  
“Enough of that nonsense.” Sirah scoffed, letting the female’s body fall to the ground, still twitching slightly at the sudden loss of the head. The remaining demon stared wide eyed at the decapitated head of the female, her head had rolled to a position where she was staring back up at him. Sirah leaned down and picked up the head by the hair, turning it to look at the face before leaning down and thrusting it in the last demon’s face.  
“Where is your swarm leader?” Sirah shook the head gently as she spoke, the decapitated head bounced as she spoke, the jaw had become loose and it looked as if the severed head was speaking as the jaw bobbled up and down as Sirah played with it.  
The demon hissed at Sirah, turning his face away from her in refusal to speak with her.  
“Damn, I thought that would work,” Sirah sarcastically spoke, throwing the demon head over her shoulder. “Oh well, looks like you three were a dead end, time to find more.”  
“You won’t get away with this!” The last demon warned, looking up at Sirah with deeply blood shot eyes.  
“I’ve been getting away with this for over a thousand years, and I shall continue to get away with this until I’m dead.” Sirah lifted her right hand up at the demon. The demon glanced down at Sirah’s hand then back up to her, as soon as he locked eyes with Sirah she thrusted her hand through his abdomen and grabbed his spine, ripping it half way back through his body. His back collapsed and Sirah watched with a blank stare as the demon choked on his own blood, the pain going through his body was so intense it had immediately put him into shock and he just stared wide eyed at Sirah as he bled out then died. The other two demons were already disintegrating into black goo piles and the third wouldn’t be far behind. Sirah sighed in frustration and stood up, shaking the blood off her hand as best she could as she looked around.  
Sirah looked up into the sky for a moment to gain a bit of her composure back, the stars were singing brightly and she noticed a few constellations she actually recognized. It pained her to enjoy the stars, it was a bitter sweet reminder of how she used to sit out under the stars with Aesa when she was still herself. Memories came flooding back and Sirah began to replay the first night they spent together after they had become friends. It was a brisk night somewhere deep within Sweden, they were preparing for a battle with a league of demons that had surfaced.  
‘You seem on edge.’ Aesa’s voice rang out clear as a bell, the all too familiar motherly tone she had taken accustomed to using with Sirah still sounded as fresh as the night they had the conversation.  
‘I’m not on edge.’ Sirah snapped back aggressively, she had been sitting down, her leg in a constant edgy shake.  
‘Then why are you acting like that?’ Aesa had looked over her shoulder at Sirah out of the corner of her eye. Sirah remembered looking over at her friend, Aesa’s long black hair fell as straight as a pin down to the middle of her back, her golden eyes were searching Sirah deeply.  
‘This whole waiting game is bullshit! We should just fly down there right now and kill all of these bastards, why wait on orders?’ Sirah snapped back, Aesa smiled at her, turning her body so that she could face Sirah directly, her snow white skin matched the stark whiteness of her snowy owl wings.  
‘So its anticipation you’re suffering from.’  
‘So?’  
‘Sirah we must wait on the orders even though you don’t like it, do not become reckless because you can’t hold yourself back.’  
‘Then what should you suggest I do?’ Sirah had asked sarcastically, she scoffed and turned back around with her arms folded to sit in frustration.  
‘Sirah look up at the stars, aren’t these ones so much more different than the ones back home?’  
‘They’re smaller than the ones back home.’  
‘That may be true but they still are a wonder to look at, and in so many different patterns. Why don’t you come over here and sit with me and we can pass the time by searching out specific constellation patterns?’  
‘What good will that do?’ Sirah had turned to stubbornly face her newly found friend again.  
‘It will help put your mind at ease.’ Aesa smiled at her and held out a hand. Sirah had taken her offer and slowly moved from her seat to sit by Aesa in the grass, the two of them had passed hours looking up at the sky and indeed it had calmed Sirah even though at the time she hadn’t wanted to admit it but star gazing quickly became a calming pass time for her and she often did it in private or with Aesa. Sirah sighed and closed her eyes while her neck was still craned back, those days were far behind her and Sirah almost wished for their simplicity.  
“Find more demons.” Sirah told herself, refocusing her mind to the task at hand. Sirah spread her wings, the full moon shining faint light through her primary flight feathers as she took one long sweep and lifted herself up off the ground. The motion was almost completely silent, Sirah flapped her wings with more vigor until she was hovering a few feet off the ground, she tucked her right leg up to her butt and placed her chin in her hand as she reviewed the destinations she had already been to and the possible future spots she could look for a local swarm of demons.  
*  
It had been several days since Sirah had returned home, Marshal could feel his nerves reach their limits as he watched each hour tick by with no sign of her. He glanced over momentarily at a large box filled with the clothes Molly had ordered online specifically for Sirah, shirts, shorts and other articles of clothing were still unpacked and untouched. Marshal reflexively bit his thumb knuckle in his habit of deep worry, what if something had happened to her? Marshal’s emotions kept switching fluctuating between furious and panic stricken with no in between. He looked at the clock once again, it hadn’t even been a half hour since he looked at it before. Marshal put his face in his hands and rubbed his hands around vigorously, why was he so strung out? He knew that Sirah could take care of herself but his mind kept whispering to him about possible things that might have happened. What if she was overrun? What if she was set up into a trap and being tortured by some demons? What if Lucifer had returned and caught her? The last thought made Marshal freeze immediately and think about it for a moment longer.  
“No,” Marshal shook his head and shoved the possibility as far out of his mind as he could, if Lucifer was on Earth then everyone would know about it.  
“Marshal,” Molly’s voice chimed up from the kitchen, she was in the middle of making dinner, stir fry it looked like to Marshal. She had a sad expression on her face as she looked him over, he was a complete mess as he fretted over Sirah disappearance. It was beginning to worry Molly as well that the Valkyrie hadn’t shown herself in the past few days but Molly kept telling herself that Sirah was fine and she was out demon scouting.  
“She hasn’t been back in almost three days.” Marshal spoke back to Molly, frustration lined his eyes.  
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Molly tried to reassure Marshal for the thousandths time.  
“But what is she’s not?” Marshal looked over at Molly, she looked back at him, helpless in what to say back at him.  
“You just have to believe that she is,” Molly spoke the words but they came to her very dryly, deep down inside Molly hoped that Sirah would never come back.


End file.
